As has become traditional on Present Tense I always take the time to write a blog for the New Year. Even when I am halfway round the world in a hotel room in downtown Vancouver, struggling to think about what the hell I am going to do today.
I'm not bragging or seeking to evoke jealous reactions when I just point out the fact that I am spending New Years in an exciting new location (okay, maybe I am just a little). But that I am overseas is of importance for this year's post.
I begin with an anecdote - perhaps my first from this foreign country. I was on the train from the airport to the city when the girl in front of me turned around and said "You said you're from Australia, right?" (I'd said this when chatting to someone else). "Why yes," I replied - being that I am. She proceeded to ask me what I was doing here, and when she heard that I was going to be here for six months, studying, she looked at my bag surprised and exclaimed: "And that's all the stuff you have!?"
This was an intriguing reaction, and hit on a theme that I've been pondering since a began packing. Packing is hard, especially when you are going into a cold winter, and then going to be staying until summer (Damn! Just realised that I forgot to pack any boardies!) and that you also need to pack books and stuff for uni. And can't be over 27kg (including carry on stuff). Twenty-seven kilograms. That's not very much. If I were to weigh everything that I own, it would come much closer to 1000kg - and that's not including a car (Actually, I don't have a clue how much it would all come to. But I do own a lot of stuff, and stuff is heavy...sooooo the point is, I have a lot of stuff). What I could take overseas is a fraction of what I own. But, it is perhaps a selection of the most essential stuff that I own.
Packing, through these weight restrictions, is one of the rare occasions that forces you to actually stop and think about what you own. It forces you to consider what goods are most important to you - not just for your comfortable survival, but your self worth. It is one of those moments where materialism, perhaps otherwise banished to the back of one's mind, are pushed into the forefront of your mind - rendered visible through your very mobility. Suddenly, in a foreign country, I'm without five pairs of shoes to pick from every morning. I no longer have seven jumpers to choose from, my hairbrush is missing (seriously, I don't have a clue where it is... :P), my car wouldn't fit in my suitcase, and I only have one type of face wash and soap. I have a skeleton of my possessions, and yet, I'm more than happy with my current situation.
Why then, do I feel that I have to have so much stuff? Well, it is, of course,the kind of society that we all live in. I'm not judging you, and I'm not going to tell you to stop - merely just observing this. I'm not going to stop buying stuff, I love buying stuff - I work hard so that eventually I'll be able to afford even more stuff, and maybe even a house to fill with this stuff. And one day I will go on a holiday, and I'll be forced to pack twenty seven kilograms - and I won't be able to fit my home cinema system, or my yacht (I'm going to have a yacht), or my three Hugo Boss suits, or my booze collection. I'll be forced to go back and consider what is most important to me, and that is a humbling situation.
I could not think of a better way to go into the new year. I like to take stock of things, see how my world has changed in the past year, look back on how I've grown, and look back on the things that I now consider important. Last year I was hell bent on discovering my passion for the year. Turns out I still am not sure that I have that. I mean, I'm more and more passionate about study, my friends, ...knives. But, nothing really in particular - so I've failed that resolution, but certainly not the year.
As cliche as it is, this year has taught me to appreciate, more than I ever have before, just how important the people you surround yourself with are. Uni is not just enough for me any more - it suffers when I don't my friends for days. I know people have been saying this shit for years. But I don't know - I've only just come to truly respect and understand what people mean when they say without friends their lives would be meaningless. Perhaps some are still just mindlessly quoting cliché when they say it. But the relationships that I share with those around me are amongst my most prized possessions (NAWWWWWWWWWWWWW).
The great thing about relationships are that they don't eat into your weight limit (I'm sure there are other great things about them too...). You can take as many of them with you as you like. You may have all the riches in the world, but you can only pack twenty seven kilos of them (assuming of course, that you are stingy with your riches and don't pay the extra charges). Those that take the most with them travelling, do not have to be rich in goods, but rich in bros and bro-ettes.
So to answer your question, dear stranger on the train, - no, what is in the suitcase is not all I have.
It's just all that you can see.
Happy New Year to you all, may 2011 be a wonderful and exciting time for you all. Much love.
8 years ago
Posts
